According to contract attorney’s, IT managers and contract specialists do a poor job in making sure that their contacts spell out the details of offers made by vendor sales reps during the “pitch” in their technology purchasing/service deals. The results are deals that start off on the wrong foot for everyone According to experts, RFP responses are usually drafted by the vendor’s sales-force, whereas the vendor’s legal team prepares the final contracts. Often the performance and support guarantees offered by the sales team during the RFP process in order to secure the deal do not make it into the contracts written by the vendor’s legal staff. Unfortunately, IT managers and contract specialists purchasing IT services often fail to identify and address these gaps before entering into the contract. The results are turbulent relationships where the vendor and buyer spend huge amounts of time quibbling over what was expected versus what is being delivered. For more information on how this happens and what you can do, read the Computerworld article titled Attorney says sloppy IT deals all to common. For specific guidelines relative to designing better IT outsourcing deals, read my three TechRepublic pieces listed below: Designing outsourcing relationships that yield long-term ROIOutsourcing relationships don’t stop at negotiationsTips for crafting better outsourcing relationships